Leaving Connecticut: Part One

Life has been very busy for me lately and I’ve been laying here on Mom & Dad’s new bed thinking back, so I’m going to try to catch you up on some fun times we’ve had over the summer in the next few posts.

This story is going back to the final week or so in Connecticut. There are a couple of places that are a must see when you visit the Hartford area that Dad wanted the human puppies to see before leaving on our new adventures.

Mark Twain House and Museum Hartford, CT

On this particular day we visited the home of Samuel Clemens. He ended up being a quite a famous author and humorist who wrote under the name Mark Twain. I learned that he was born in Missouri in 1835, which gave him the setting for Huckleberry Finn and wasn’t even famous by the time he decided to move his family to Hartford. As a matter of fact, he wasn’t rich either. The money they used to build their Connecticut mansion was in fact his wife’s. He did earn a great deal of money on his own through his writing and speaking engagements, but lost most to bad investments, most notably a typesetting machine that was probably puppy steps from being great but was prone to failures which cost him $300,000. That’s nothing to bark at and is still a lot of money today!

So where did his Nom de Plume come from? Well two places really. Mark Twain is a river boat measure of water depth. When the leadsman’s line sank to the two fathom knot (a navigable 12 feet of water), he would call out “Mark Twain”. As it turns out Samuel “borrowed” the name from another writer, Capt. Sellers who had passed and “could no longer need it.”

As we toured Mr. Clemens’ home we took in the sights of hand painted parlor walls, their pattern looking very much like what would only be done in wallpaper today. There were gas lights, where many families still relied on candles, and the rich wood tones throughout. All of this was interesting to my family because as you may know they are kinda book and history nerds. We moved at a nice slow pace throughout the tour but Dad noticed that I seemed a bit uneasy, it wasn’t noticeable to the other in the tour, but Dad knows my best and expects it at all times in public. He and Mom say the best compliment to a service dog is when people say, “Oh, I didn’t even notice him.” Dad took Mom’s advice and stopped correcting the small whines, or unexpected small moves left or right since nobody even so much as glanced our way. (Editor’s note: They glanced over every time Dan corrected because he made more noise than Casper, so I told him to STOP!) Dad took note that I was quite uneasy in the parlor as well as in the children’s room and the Master hallway. He said it was like a fly was on my butt, or someone kept bumping me. I was much calmer in the servant’s area and even wanted to try the brass sink for a drink of water. Dad laughed at me when I stuck my head into the bowl expecting the tap to turn on my command; it didn’t, I think we should have asked about that but it was a tight spot and we moved on rather quickly instead.

The most notable room in the house is of course, the billiards room. This happened to be Samuel’s favorite room. He spent much of his time here entertaining his male dinner guests late into night. When he wasn’t playing a game he was sitting at his writing desk, in the same room, where he penned his most famous works. As the guide spoke I felt comfortable enough and just decided to lay down. Dad looked down at me and wondered out loud to Mom, why I would choose to lay down on the job. The guide overheard the comment and told us all how much of an animal lover Mr. Clemens was; apparently he, and his family had dogs and several cats, just like my family. Soon after, we headed out side and I felt the need to move quickly past the back of the house, so fast in fact I forgot that Dad was holding on and I dragged him right into Mom! We finished the tour outside, by the carriage house. This gave other members of the tour a chance to meet us and they all commented how great I was to have on their tour. We chatted with some longer than others and even found those that agreed with us when it was suggested that I might be picking up on spirit energy and maybe even Sam himself was in the billiards room welcoming me to rest a bit. The home is as interesting and eclectic as his writing, and I would definitely recommend a visit the next time you are in the area.

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8 thoughts on “Leaving Connecticut: Part One”

Casper I so enjoy reading about all your adventures and all you do! You are absolutely wonderful and just amazing! I am on SDP site as Roberta L – OH and miss seeing you when you would visit. Also, when I read about your reactions at the museum, I too wondered about what you saw and heard. I hope you and your humans will stay well and happy in your new home! Wishing you the best always and thank you for writing for all us humans! Blessings always!
Roberta L – OH

Thanks for the very interesting and enlightening tour of that fabulous location. Now you’ve made me add another place to my hit list. When you talked about being a tad uncomfortable I, too, immediately thought perhaps you were sensing something(one) special in those areas – amazing to be sure.
I’m so glad you all were able to get there before leaving and hope I too can get there one day, as well as meet you in person.

I have to laugh. I’ve lived in CT since I was 5 years old, and finally toured the Mark Twain house decades later when I had out-of-town company. I enjoyed the tour, and the Harriet Beecher Stowe house next door as well. Hartford’s Nook Farm was quite literary at that time. Casper, you did a good job of describing Mark Twain and his house. Thank you for the memories!

I feel the same as Sharon, I think you had a spiritual encounter….more than one, as a matter of fact. And, who knows what happened in that back yard so many years ago, that spooked you. You sure had a pawsome experience, though. Keep enjoying your adventures…look forward to your next one. Love you, Casper…..<3

Thank you so much, Casper, this was very educational. It is a place I would like to visit but most likely will never get east of the Rockies. Sounds like you had a spiritual experience and I can only think that is a good thing. Look forward to your next installment.
Hugs to you and your family….